For Reasons Unown
by Reticent Onslaught
Summary: Chaos is unfolding in the Pokemon World as a mysterious creature has appeared and is murdering innocent Pokemon.     New chapters to be released sporadically.
1. Chapter 1

I always wonder why we do this. Why we fight one another. What do we gain by this? I know for sure that the humans only gain small metallic tokens to display to others, oddly shaped, but…fun to chew on. My human has never obtained these tokens. She is much too kind to force me to fight. Though the care she provides has made me strong, and my flames burn brighter. Little Pichu seems to have taken up most of her time these days, having been found splashing around in a lake just a few nights ago. The sodden little thing was soaked through to the bone, and still has not entirely lost its shiver despite being wrapped up in a thick blanket as we make our way through Ecruteak to the following city. We—well, Shiori—decided to pay a visit to the Burned Tower in Ecruteak, with a woven basket in her non-Pichu carrying hand. I wonder what's inside. Patiently, Flareon, Espeon and myself watched her fumble around by the ground trying to flatten out a blanket for us to sit on. The wind is a little stronger than usual, but she managed to get it after about a minute. She turns and smiles, but her eyes suggest otherwise. Flareon and I exchange a brief glance, but still, nothing is said. We settle down on the blanket close to her and Pichu is set between Flareon and I, to keep it warm.  
>"Are you guys hungry?" Shiori asks as she begins to remove three bowls from the basket. The flames on my backside flare up slightly, glad to hear the basket had food inside. "Yes, Shiori," I reply. "Took you long enough!" Pichu chimes in, and Flareon shoots it a glare. Such a rude little Pichu. "The least you could do is be grateful," Espeon growls, "she saved your life."<br>Shiori doesn't seem to notice the two of them arguing. I continued to watch her as she prepared our lunch, crushed berries over some…brown crunchy things. Not sure what they're called. I continue to watch her like a Fearow, until I notice her putting the wrong berry mix into my bowl. A whine escapes me, and I nuzzle her hand, startling her.  
>"What's wrong, Shiori? You're acting funny today…"<br>She looked up at me, her hand trembling. There was definitely something wrong. Espeon and Pichu stopped arguing almost instantly, and we gathered around her.  
>"I-I'm sorry guys, I'm not sure what's wrong with me today. It…just feels like someone's been following us. But don't worry, okay? Let's just have a nice lunch." She kissed each of us on the head, and went back to preparing.<p>

I curl up next to Shiori's basket and watch Flareon and Espeon as they chase each other around the entrance to the Burned Tower, and Pichu as she picks flowers in the grass, perhaps to apologize to Shiori with. I watch over the three of them like a…well, I don't know what to compare it to, but I've always watched them closely. Even Shiori. But I've got to watch for something…else as well. Something that's worrying her. Flareon slides to a stop next to me, her fur fluffed up. "There's something in the tower!"  
>"What?" I ask and jump to my feet, flaring up like a match. "Where's Espeon?"<br>"In the tower, come on!" She chirped and started to run towards the entrance. Shiori's little voice makes my muscles seize up.  
>"Where you going?" She asked, and brushed her bright pink hair away from her face.<br>"Just to the tower. You can stay here. Don't worry." I nodded at the scarred building and give her hand a reassuring lick before dashing after Flareon. The moment I set paw inside the Tower, a horrible chill ran through every muscle in my body. Flareon seemed to have been effected in a similar matter and was moving much slower now, her fur and ears pressed against her body.  
>"Why did Espeon come in here, again?" I whisper steadily, despite trembling horribly.<br>"His curiosity got the better of him, and he said he 'sensed' something in here."  
>We continued on at a Slowpoke's pace through the tower, until the cold feeling got a thousand times worse. And two fire-types being cold? That just doesn't happen. Flareon was lagging behind me now, shaking far worse than I, but I ignored it in favor of trying to locate Espeon.<br>"Espe—" I began, but a horrible scream blasted through the entirety of the tower, followed by a horrible crashing sound, and wood breaking. "ESPEON!" The two of us cried and began to run in the direction of the noise. I knew that sound as well as I knew Shiori. It happened in battles all the time. Something threw him against a wall. But he was strong. This thing must be tenfold stronger.

We reached a point where the floor had been kicked up, like something had been violently thrown into it but also thrown backwards at the same time. We followed the broken floor slowly and stayed close to the floor until we reached a wall, with Espeon smashed against it.  
>Covered in blood and pinned to the wall with spikes pierced through each of his paws, blue embers danced at the end of the spikes.<br>"E-Espeon?" Flareon choked out, tears filling her golden eyes as she desperately paws at his hind leg. "E-Espeon, please…"  
>"R-Run…" He muttered through a mouth full of blood, eyes glazed over. He couldn't move. The spikes pierced each limb, his ears, even his tail. I stare up at him in silence, still trembling. What would do this? Spikes with blue flames…No Pokémon had an attack like that…None that I knew of, at least.<br>"No, we can't leave you—We WON'T—" Flareon said, and began to tug at one of the spikes with her teeth. But it wouldn't budge.  
>"I SAID RUN. Damn it! Don't be stupid, and just do what I tell you! GET OUT OF HERE NOW." He shouted at her with his last bits of energy, spitting blood. Flareon flinched as he raised his voice at her and only made the tears run heavier from her eyes. Gently I press my nose into her side to try and comfort her, but she pulls away.<br>"C'mon. We need to go." Like a wave, the panic crashes back into my body, and I tug at her fur. She's still staring up at him, his eyes like glass now. No life glowed through.

At a full sprint, we hurry out of the Burned Tower and back to Shiori, who was right where we left her with Pichu in her arms. She lights up at seeing the two of us, but that's snuffed out quickly.  
>"Where's Espeon?" She asks. Flareon doesn't look at her, massive tears spotting the picnic basket. Blood drops on her fluffy yellow mane. "Fl-Flareon…" She reaches out to her, looks at me, and I look away. There must have been blood on me as well, because she got the picture quickly.<br>"He-he's gone? How did this happen?" I shook my head. _We don't know._


	2. Chapter 2

Pokemon murders are surprisingly rare. And even rarer still is for there to be a body. I've heard stories about a Latios that sacrificed itself to protect its home, and turned into some gem thing, so there was no body. There are other stories, but I can't seem to remember them right now. There's that graveyard in Kanto. We visited there a few years ago, but we were just sightseeing.

We traveled in near silence for the rest of the day. No one wanted to speak anyway. It was too heartbreaking. Shiori accidentally served a bowl for him, and Flareon burst into tears instantly. We didn't see her for a few hours after that. Everything was just…wrong. As we approached the next city, we encountered more trainers. They were all talking about something. Not the usual "gossip" as Shiori called it, but more like frightened whispers. I began to tremble again. They could've only been talking about one thing.

What kind of monster could this thing be? To kill for the fun of it? I couldn't even imagine.

Something brushed against me, and with a shriek, I tried to run away, but tumbled over myself and slammed into the thick trunk of a tree. Looking back at where I was just a moment ago, I found Flareon standing in my place, her eyes wide and already beginning to fill with tears. I scrambled up to my feet and back to her side, rubbing my cheek against hers gently.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She whimpered and turned away from me.

"It's alright, it was my fault." I reply, still right at her side. She needed support more than I did. "I shouldn't have been so jumpy."

"No, it was...justified. I won't-won't sneak up on you again."

Gently I nudged her into walking again. We had to get back to Shiori. We'd been away too long already, and we didn't want to worry her again. We weren't too far down Route 39, so we got back to her quickly. Seated underneath a tree with Pichu in her arms, she was talking with a boy that was seated right across from her. As if without a care in the world, Pichu was playing with Shiori's bright pink hair and letting out chirping little giggles. My heart sank like a rock in my chest as I watched the little pokemon playing so happily.

"So what have you heard about...whatever this is that's happening?" Shiori asks, her eyes were puffy and red, but there was no expression on her face. Nothing. Completely blank. Yet another chill ran down my spine. But Flareon and I walked over to her anyway, curling up by her feet.

"Lots of crazy things," The boy replied, "Some say a shadow came out of no where and sucked one of their Pokemon down into the depths of Hell. Others claim they watched their Pokemon get torn limb from limb right before their eyes."

"Have you lost a Pokemon to this?"

"No, I have not."

"Where ARE your Pokemon?"

"I don't see how this is relevant-"

"Do not let them out of your sight if you care for their safety!"

"Why do you care what I do-"

"I had an Espeon, who was essentially crucified inside the Burnt Tower. Stakes pierced through him like he was a fucking PIN CUSHION. You have to keep them close, and you have to tell everyone you meet to do the same, do you understand me?"

"Wh-"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" She shouts, causing Pichu to stop his playing completely, and startling me enough for my flames to nearly explode from my back and neck. I look up at her, eyes wide, but her eyes were set on the boy. I'd never seen her look so intensely. Not once since she hatched me from my egg. The boy looked just as startled, then turned away.  
>"Whatever, you're just as crazy as the rest of them." He stood up and left quickly, though he turned to look back at us a single time. Did he really think all this was just made up? That the stories of dead Pokemon were <em>fake?<em> I growled at him as he walked away. Ignorant little-

"It's alright, Quilava. No need for you to get more upset." Shiori says gently, and I calm down almost instantly. She'd always had that effect on me. I was like putty in her hands. We both knew it, but at least she never took advantage of it. She loved each of us so dearly, as much as she loved her parents. But I could sense something that neither Flareon nor Pichu could. The death of Espeon was slowly eating away at her heart, and I was beginning to fear what would become of it. Hopefully she won't change from the loving girl I've always known, who had lost her eldest brother when she was eight. That was where Flareon came from.

Shiori's phone rang suddenly, making her jump and scramble frantically through her bag for it. Flipping it open, there was a brief pause.

"Oh, hi mother. Something wrong? Well, not really...Yes, I-I'm fi-...Okay fine there IS something wrong. Espeon-Espeon's dead." She choked back her tears with all of her might. "In the Burned Tower. I don't know how, but from what I've heard from the other trainers, it's happening in other places too. I-I don't know what's going on, and-I'm scared..." There was a long pause, I assume her mother was doing her best to console her. They exchanged "I love you's" and the call ended.  
>"Come on you two, it's time to head to Olivine so we can visit Jasmine like I promised," She reminds us and gets up from sitting on the ground. Pichu frantically placed himself in her hair while she was moving, hanging on with all of his tiny might and squealing in protest. She plucked Flareon off the ground as well and holds her close, nuzzling her cheek for added affection. Since we left Ecruteak, she's been comforting her furiously, and it seems like it's working wonders for her. Even though I've been the last one on her list of those to pay attention to, at least it's justified.<p>

We walked in silence, all of us, with me slightly in the lead through the trees. I couldn't get the thought of Shiori's mother out of my mind. I guessed that there hadn't been any Pokemon murders in Goldenrod seeing as she hadn't been aware of anything being wrong in the first place. Lost in thought, Flareon's voice brought me back to Earth.

"D-Do you notice anything strange? I-I don't hear anything...nothing is making any noise..."


	3. Chapter 3

She was right, there wasn't any noise. My fur bristled instinctively, and I looked around. In fact, I couldn't see anything _moving _in the trees either. Normally when we went to visit Jasmine, there were Pidgeys and Caterpies and Weedles everywhere in the trees. There wasn't anything on the ground either, aside from us. I grew nervous and shrank back closer to Shiori. She must've noticed that something was wrong too, because her pace slowed down significantly. Where had the Pokemon gone? The entire way to Olivine, there was nothing. Not a single Pokemon, not a single trainer. As we approached the final stretch before the city, Shiori shrieked. Flames exploded from my back once again out of fright, and only when I forced them to die down did I notice why.

There were six more trees down the road before us, and on each tree, was a corpse of a Pokemon, hung there in exactly the same way as Espeon was. Their mouthes were all open, and for a moment I believed that their eyes were black, but upon closer inspection, I noticed something that made my blood run cold. Their eyes had been torn out and were oozing down their faces like...like jelly. I swung around to look back at Shiori to see that she had fallen to her knees, her eyes were huge and instantly began to fill with tears. "W-what kind of monster would do this?" She whispered and her entire body began to tremble furiously. "These poor innocent little creatures. They didn't deserve this...Espeon didn't deserve this." Gently I pushed her leg with my forehead, trying to get her to keep walking, but she couldn't budge. I kept trying, and only after I sent a little ember onto her thigh did she snap out of it with a high pitched yelp.

We crept along the path slowly, and by the time we got to the city, the sun had set. We dared not make a noise. Not even little Pichu, who had been set upon my back after our little _encounter._ The little mouse was almost vibrating from how horrified he had become, and aside from the strong shaking, hadn't moved a bit. I grew worried. "Pichu? Are you alright?" No reply. "Pichu...?" Still, nothing. I turned to look back at him, and found him staring into nothing, his eyes huge yet clouded over. I wiggled an ear at him, to try and get him to snap out of it. "Pichu? Hello?"  
>"Is he alright?" Flareon chimed in.<p>

"No, he isn't. I think he may have suffered so much shock that he can't see. I really have no clue. Let Shiori hold him, and walk with me, please."

She wiggled out of our trainers warm embrace and landed softly on the ground. She plucked Pichu off my back by one of his huge ears, and held him up like a mother would hold her kit, allowing Shiori to take him.

"Poor thing's going to be traumatized for the rest of his life," I mumbled quietly, and brushed my side against Flareon's in an attempt of gaining some comfort.  
>"I still cannot believe this is happening. What sort of higher entity would allow innocent-"<p>

"W-where's the light?" Shiori's tiny voice broke through, and we turned around to look at her. "T-The lighthouse. Where's the light from the lighthouse? Amphy's always got it started up by the time the sun goes down. C'mon you two, we have to hurry." She set off at a sudden sprint down the road and we hurried after her. Winding through the streets, we nearly collided into numerous people who cursed at us for being so clumsy, but that wasn't nearly important. Nearly drifting around a corner, we were nearly at the lighthouse when a horrible scream erupted from a short ways down the road. We arrived and found Jasmine on her knees, her hands together and against her chest, and her attention turned upwards to the outside of the lighthouse. A thick streak of red ran down the side of the building, and at the top of the streak, was Amphy. A single black spike protruded from her body, straight through the torso. I squinted my eyes to try and see better, and I noticed that there was a large splatter of blood near the top of the streak. Wincing slightly, I realized that not only had Amphy been _killed_, but the creature that did it topped it off by _crushing her skull._

Jasmine was sobbing loudly nearby, letting out painful wails every so often and rocking back and forth on the ground. Shiori had her arms around her friend, trying to comfort her in silence. Flareon and I watched them quietly for a few long moments until Jasmine couldn't cry anymore, simply convulsed with her silent, tearless sobs. "Come, Jasmine. Let's go to the Center so you can lie down and we can talk. There's nothing we can do now." She helped her up off of the floor and led her down the road. We followed cautiously behind them a bit. "Poor Amphy, all she ever did was help the people here. This is getting really messed up, Quilava." Flareon whispered. I nodded my head and shuddered slightly. "I agree. But what I don't understand is _why. _What is supposed to be gained from killing Ampharos? This thing doesn't seem to have a true pattern to its targets. Like it's just doing it for the fun of it."

"But what Pokemon would start a massacre just for _fun_?"  
>"Gengar and his previous forms?"<br>"I don't think so. They just like to be creepy, lay curses, and suck out your life force. They don't crush skulls."

We found ourselves at the Pokemon Center rather quickly. Jasmine was muttering to herself over and over again her apologies to Ampharos, making all of us feel awful. Clearly she felt guilty, having not been with the electric pokemon. The two had always been inseparable, with Jasmine visiting up to four times a day if she didn't have any challengers at her gym. But it seemed that today, she had missed her visit, and was blaming herself for it now.  
>"There wasn't anything you could've done, Jasmine. Don't blame yourself." Shiori told her softly, "Now come."<p>

They were making their way to the front doors when a terrible ripping noise echoed through the area. Looking up, all of us, a massive shadow appeared high in the sky, but it was far too dark to tell what it was. The air turned cold and heavy, pushing me down like a weight on my back. Flareon instinctively began to hiss at the creature, and I flared up like a miniature sun. The beast payed no attention to us, however, and began to charge up a ball of energy. Without a moments hesitation, Shiori scooped up the two of us, and nearly dragged away Jasmine in an effort to move us away from the attack, but it was too little too late. The second we began to run, the burst of energy rained down upon the Pokemon Center, causing the building to buckle and give way, then explode into shrapnel. The shock wave sent us and the surrounding people, pokemon, and buildings to go flying in all directions.


End file.
